


Power Couple of the Capital Wasteland

by Prof_Anity



Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Banter, Baseball, But she's a major character to me, Dialogue-Only, F/F, First Time, Fluff, I mean seriously some of these chapters just originated from banter and I worked stories around them, Kidnapping, Mild Gore, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character(s), Movie Night, Moving In Together, One Shot Collection, Painting, Propaganda, Rollerblades & Rollerskates, Science girl and her goth gf, Self-Discovery, a lot of it probably, lots of banter, through adventure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-01-07 05:44:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12226938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prof_Anity/pseuds/Prof_Anity
Summary: The ongoing romantic adventures of Xandra Gomez (the sorta Lone Wanderer) and Bittercup.





	1. Finding a Home

_My dead heart beats with a fire revived_

_After this vicious attack we survived_

_Beautiful Xandra, rad as a roach_

_Will you be with me, without reproach?_

“Bittercup, this is...kinda sweet, actually,” Xandra managed to say, looking up from the piece of paper and shifting her glasses. “I’m surprised you came up with that so soon after a Super Mutant battle. And using their blood for ink was a nice touch.”

Sitting at the side of Xandra’s bed, Bittercup smiled. Her made-up face, auburn hair and red clothing stood out against the earthy interior of the Common House. “I’m crafty, what can I say. Probably took me longer to gather the stuff than to compose this,” Bittercup replied with a wink. “So?”

Without a word, Xandra scooched towards her gothic sweetheart for a big smooch on the cheek, who responded by pulling her in closer.

“There’s my pretty mushroom cloud!” Bittercup said, playing with her latest lover’s perpetually messy, smokey-looking hair. “So, now that you're rested, what do you wanna do?”

Xandra got up from the bed, strode across the room to put on her Vault-Tec jumpsuit, strapped her trusty bat to her back and said, “Making sure the town’s ready for any other invasion. Come on.”

As the pair left the Common House, they were met with cheers. The moon seemed to cast a spotlight on the both of them. “Hey, there's the hero of Big Town!” “Glad to have you around!” “Are ya gonna give us a hand against any other attack?”

“Since you all asked so nice, guess I'm gonna have to,” Xandra replied with a bashful smile and a hand on the back of her head. This was received with applause and more than one sigh of relief.

After the adulation subsided, Xandra walked with Bittercup to the abandoned Sentry Bot in the town. “Let’s see if we can get that up and running. Shouldn’t be too hard, just need to replace some parts and rewire the thing. Wanna help me get the stuff we need?”

“Do I look like the kind of person to pass up the chance to dramatically die in my lover’s arms defending her from the worst of the wasteland?”

“It’s just a trip to a bunker, dummy.” Xandra couldn't help but grin at Bittercup’s need for drama. She then set a course for Hamilton’s Hideaway.

From Big Town, it was a straight path up through the Moonbeam Outdoor Cinema. The trip there was nowhere near as perilous as Bittercup had hoped for. A few raiders here and there (who knew human skulls were so easily broken by bats and lead pipes), a pack of mole rats (Xandra was grateful for the mole rat repellent stick Moira provided her. Bittercup just found the way the repellent made their heads explode so cool. “I am _not_ trying it out on you,” said Xandra exasperatedly) and a stray mirelurk (These Xandra actually found scary, with their unnerving faces and their strange shuffle. Tasty meat though). They didn’t even try to engage the mirelurk up close, Xandra opting to shoot it to death with an assault rifle.

As they entered Hamilton’s Hideaway, it got tense. The bunker hidden in a cave was filled with twists and turns, metal pathways that break off and similar-looking corridors. Xandra had been here before, even have the corpses left to prove it, but her sense of direction has never been good anyway. All she could think of was 101.

Thankfully though, a room they found had a fair number of repair materials. Xandra got really excited as she loaded up on tools, circuit boards and whatever else that was usable. She was so fixated on the gear she didn't notice that a radscorpion had been crawling up to her from a side room, ready to strike. Bittercup had been picking on radroaches for fun but saw the radscorpion just in time, smacking its tail with her lead pipe to get its attention.

Xandra jumped, and turned to the attacking radscorpion. She drew the Ripper, a vicious knife that had a chainsaw mechanism, and slashed across its back. With its attention split, the pair managed to get to work on killing it without being hurt too much.

“You okay, sugar?” Bittercup said, panting slightly.

“I should be asking you that. You took its claws much more.”

“A few scratches here and there. The scars are gonna look nice, I’m sure.”

“Take this Stimpak anyway. Can't take too many chances.”

Bittercup agreed, and injected herself with the Stimpak. She winked. “Thanks, babe.”

“Now let’s mosey on out of here,” Xandra said with a little gesture towards where she guessed the exit was.

The trip back took much shorter with the trail of bodies in their wake. It was morning by the time they reached Big Town. What seemed to be the entire waking population gathered around to watch Xandra fix the Sentry Bot. She would have been uncomfortable if she wasn't so focused on rewiring and patching up. When the robot’s eye glowed red, the town's people held their breath.

“No hostiles detected,” it said. The crowd gave a big cheer, and moved on with their otherwise uneventful day in the hot sun.

Bittercup was gleeful. “This ought to let those Brahminfuckers get the message that they're not wanted here. That’s thanks to you, sugar!”

Xandra gave her a smooch on the cheek. “My pleasure,” she said. “So, uhh, Bittercup…”

She was already ahead of her. “You're not staying huh? Town isn't for you?”

“Restrictive places aren't quite my thing,” Xandra replied, cheeks turning red.

“Well, promise me you'll visit okay?” Bittercup said, with both hands on her girlfriend’s blushing face.

Xandra leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “Aye aye, ma’am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first story I wrote with these characters. Wasn't sure how to wrap up the thing in a way that satisfied me until I realized that Hamilton's Hideaway was a vault too.
> 
> And as always feel free to comment! I'm still new to this whole business so I'm always wanting to improve my work!


	2. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what you think it is.

"Die!” roared the stray Super Mutant, firing its shotgun almost with abandon. The wild blasts missed Xandra and her companion Bittercup. A quick swipe from Xandra’s bat sent the gun flying.

Xandra took a huge swing at the ugly creature’s face, breaking _something_ that sure wasn't her weapon. It gripped its head in pain, and Bittercup finished it off with her lead pipe.

Looting the corpse for everything useful, Xandra spotted a pack of cigarettes, which she tossed to her girlfriend.

“Appreciated. So, it’s been days since your last visit. Why’d you sneak me off from my patrol here to the drive-in cinema, this late at night, with all this scum around? A girl could get hurt y’know,” Bittercup asked, lighting one of the cigarettes.

Standing in front of one of the picnic tables, Xandra was visibly excited. “Okay, you would not guess what I found. I was raiding some old building in the city and I found this,” Xandra said, whipping out a battered case of film reels. She turned on her Pip-Boy light to properly show her discovery. The artwork attached to it featured a female vampire with her fangs so excitingly close to a beautiful woman’s neck. The title _Les Vamps_ was splashed on it, bold and colorful.

The cigarette nearly fell out of Bittercup’s lips. “You must be joking me. That’s the coolest thing I've seen in my entire, tragically long, lifetime.”

“So I took the liberty of patching up the cinema’s equipment all day. I also set up as many mines as I could within shooting distance, to take care of any unwanted intruders. No more centaurs or Super Mutants to get in the way, nope,” Xandra said with both thumbs up. She motioned to the picnic table positioned sideways at just the right distance away from the screen. “The sapphic vampire movie awaits, my best gal.”

“So polite. Too much for me if you weren’t so darn cute,” Bittercup said with a smirk as she sat on the bench, her back leaning on the table.

Xandra then started up the projector set up on one of the lot’s ancient cars. She took a few packs of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes and a bottle of wine from her bag, which didn’t last long anyway. Every twenty minutes she would get up to attend to the projector whenever they got to the end of a reel. At midnight, halfway through the movie, exhaustion started catching up to her, and she rested her head on her lover’s shoulder.

Bittercup was definitely having a blast. Fun movie, affectionate girlfriend, what more could she ask for? For once, death didn't seem like the only ideal. She took her girlfriend’s warm hand and held it tight. Xandra was asleep in only a couple of minutes. “Square,” she whispered.

After a while, the film reel reached its end, and the screen went dark. There were 20 minutes left in the movie. Bittercup had no idea how to operate the projector. She didn't want to wake her girlfriend. “Damn it,” she breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be in a car but then I realized the state of cars in the game. So much for that. This was the chapter I wanted to get to first but then I had to do all that introductory stuff so yeah.


	3. Big Town Baseball Babes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey baseball fans! Get your tickets to see the newly created Big Town Vaults face off against the also newly created Big Town Dwellers! 
> 
> And psst, between you and me, there might be some big change in store for Xandra Gomez the Lone Wanderer and her lovely companion Bittercup!
> 
> Yes folks, this one has it all! Baseball! Romance! And everybody's favorite, extreme violence!

**Evening, Big Town Common House**

“I wanna move in with you,” Bittercup said out of the blue.

“What?” Xandra said, caught slightly offguard.

“Babe, there’s nothing for me here. Just a string of exes, a whole lot of dust, and the fear of Super Mutants attacking. I don't like it here anymore, and I don't think they care for me much either.”

“But wouldn’t they need you here?”

“Come on, there’s plenty of people already. That just means one less person to worry about and less resources being used up. Let me be your nice little housewife in an apron with a rolling pin, please?”

“We both know that’s not at all what you wanna do with your life,” Xandra said, with a soft boop on Bittercup’s nose.

“Hah! You know me too well. Now come on, what do you say?’

Xandra paused for a few moments.

“On one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s your turn for a date. I've taken us on two already, so…”

“You consider smacking around a radscorpion in an underground base a date?”

“Fair enough. But still! I’m sure you have ideas.”

“I may or may not have something in mind…Give me a couple days.”

“Hey Bittercup.”

“Hey Xandra, what’s up?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, nerd.”

**Afternoon, Fordham Flash Memorial Field**

“Bases are loaded, Xandra, let’s see if you can hit this and save the day for your team,” said Bittercup, smirking as she was winding up for a pitch.

Xandra smirked back, and relaxed her swing stance for a moment. “Are you actually gonna release that thing or just quip at Vault 101’s baseball team MVP?”

Kimba, Red, and Shorty, waiting at the bases, rolled their eyes at this exchange.

Bittercup threw the ball, and Xandra knocked it out of the park, clear out of sight. What they also don’t see is that it landed right on a passing raider’s head.

After this home run that left Bittercup’s team dismayed but not surprised, the two teams came together. Some shook hands, some exchanged caps, most just laughed about the whole situation.

Xandra cleared her throat, and said to the crowd, “Thank you so much for this folks! And thanks to my lovely girlfriend Bittercup for getting everyone to learn how to play baseball in a few days.”

Bittercup laughed and said, “It’s not easy adapting the game to suit ten people. You should have seen the first couple of practice games.”

“Just our way of saying thanks to our hero,” said Red, hugging Xandra. “I’ll never forget what you did for me, especially.”

Xandra shrugged and said, “Hey, what’s blowing through a few Super Mutants holed up in some old police station in exchange for the heart and soul of Big Town?”

Red blushed. “That’s overstating my importance to this place, I---”

“Hi there! Is this your ball, kids?” said a raider with a fairly big lump on his head, surrounded by a band of two others. He held up the skin of the baseball, poorly wrapped around something that most definitely was not a ball.

He sneered, pulled a pin from the “baseball” and said, “Well, here’s it back!”

The grenade landed on the ground several feet in front of Xandra. Without a thought, Bittercup put herself in front of her girlfriend. It detonated with a blast that knocked the two women over.

Xandra lost consciousness for a brief moment, and she came to with Bittercup on top of her. She gingerly moved her aside, nearly deafened by the sound of bullets and yelling.

Xandra felt a flash of anger, but let this subside for a moment. Time seemed to slow down, as she had to examine her girlfriend. Bittercup had passed out, and was in sheer pain. No limbs were missing or too badly mangled, thankfully. She had bits of shrapnel embedded in her. Should be easy to remove, and they had a stock of stimpaks to handle the rest.

Satisfied that Bittercup is going to make it, Xandra got up from the ground and picked up her trusty bat.

The people of the town were struggling to fight back. It was still ten people versus three, but most of them had stashed their weapons in a trunk at the far end of the field, and it was a struggle to avoid gunfire and make a dash for the equipment.

Kimba was first to pick up her assault rifle. She sprayed gunfire across the field, aiming to get the raiders’ attention.

Distracted, the raider that was farthest away from the group failed to notice Xandra’s bat crashing into the back of her head. She dropped her submachine gun. Xandra threw it over to Red, who used it to shoot the raider in the face.

“That’s what you get for messing with Big Town, raider scum!” Red yelled with pure adrenaline.

The second-in-command, a tall raider smoking a cigarette, fired his assault rifle almost nonchalantly. He didn’t seem to see the people of Big Town, just more supplies to scavenge. Kimba shot him in the legs, dropping him to the ground. Shorty took the raider’s rifle, and put a bullet into his head.

That left the leader. The last raider was starting to get scared, finally, but he was determined to either end this fight triumphant or dead. The Big Town folks were ready to help him with the latter.

Xandra ran up to the raider with her bat out. She beat his face in, and then his torso. The force knocked the pins off from the grenades strapped to the raider’s bandolier. Thinking fast, Xandra pushed the raider to the ground onto his stomach, the impact triggering the levers in the grenades. The explosives detonated simultaneously. His body took all of the blasts, sending most of his torso and dry earth flying off in multiple directions.

“Huh. Gross,” said Xandra, wiping off bits of raider from her vault jumpsuit. Remembering Bittercup, she ordered several of the townspeople to bring a mattress to use as a makeshift stretcher. She needed to bring her indoors, away from the heat and dust.

They ended up at the town clinic. Xandra removed the shrapnel embedded in Bittercup’s flesh. Thankfully, none of them made their way into her vital organs. Red disinfected the wounds and sewed her up. Several stimpaks to the most affected areas seemed to do the trick, as her vital signs seemed to stabilize. They left a pack of Med-X, just in case she needed them for the pain. Bittercup’s clothes were not at their best, so Xandra dressed her in a spare Vault 101 jumpsuit. Then, they let her sleep.

Later that night, Xandra came to visit. Little rays of moonlight were coming through the gaps of the boards on the windows, breaking up the gloomy brown of the clinic. The sole bed in the clinic was found in the kitchen, right beside the wall. Bittercup was sitting up in the bed with her back pressed against the wall, repeatedly tapping her cheek with a finger.

“Hey babe! I’m thinking, what’s a good word to rhyme with ‘strike’?”

Xandra sat down beside her girlfriend. “That was brave for you to do.”

“Well, it’s either you died or I did. And I’d pick me, anytime.”

“One of these days I’m going to get you to drop that attitude,” Xandra said with a laugh and a shake of the head.

“Good luck with that,” said Bittercup, stretching with a creak. She winced. “How you vault people move around in this, I have no clue.” She rested her head on Xandra’s shoulder.

“You learn to live with it,” said Xandra. “Speaking of moving, when you’re feeling better, you should get whatever stuff you want to bring ready.”

“What for?”

“You’re moving in with me, right?”

Caught offguard, Bittercup shifted away, but then put her arm around Xandra and started to kiss her cheek repeatedly, until she got to her neck.

Responding to this in an instant, Xandra got on top of Bittercup and put a hand on the wall, right next to Bittercup’s head. She lingered for a moment with a smirk, then moved in closer for a kiss that lasted several long moments.

Unconsciously, Bittercup caressed as much as she could of Xandra’s body through her jumpsuit, eventually settling on her breasts. She pulled away for a brief moment and said, “Heh, made it to second base.”

At this, Xandra laughed, got up and strode to the entrance (to Bittercup’s momentary confusion). With a sound not unlike that of a grenade pin being pulled, she locked the door.

Bonus: I made the two girls as Funko Pops!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of the three things I had to get familiar with (i.e. baseball, blast injuries, making out) only one delayed me posting this fic. Guess what.
> 
> As always, hope you enjoyed it!


	4. She's Leaving Home after Living Alone for so Many Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xandra and Bittercup make their way to Megaton. There's some emotions. And vaporization.

**Morning, Big Town Common House**

“One extra set of clothes, a tin of makeup, a box of Sugar Bombs, spoons, a glass pitcher, and a lead pipe?” Xandra said, examining the contents of Bittercup’s battered suitcase.

“Besides what I graciously gift you, I don’t come across too much stuff anyway. I’m not some Lone Wanderer who has taken in the entirety of this beautiful wasteland,” Bittercup replied.

Xandra shook her head at the nickname, even though she kinda liked it.

“Oh! One last thing,” said Bittercup. She took a bottle of whiskey from a nearby shelf, stuffed it in her bag, and snapped it shut. “Can't have my Sugar Bombs without this.”

“The spirit of a real innovator here. You ready to go?”

“Dying to.”

They stepped out into the dull sunlight, and Xandra led Bittercup by the hand to the center of town. Bittercup braced herself, knowing a declaration was coming.

“Hey everyone,” announced Xandra, drawing their attention. “I have to leave again, but first I wanted to tell you all that I am bringing along Bittercup, who's moving in with me.”

“Awww,” went the crowd, but the feeling behind it wasn’t clear. Red, somewhat hurriedly, said, “congrats!”

“Anyways, in case any of you guys need me, I can use my Pip-Boy to pick up a frequency from one of your radios and I'll be here as fast as I can. So call me if you want to reach me, okay? Hey sweetie, do you have anything to–” Xandra received a look from Bittercup–”oh, anyways, thanks for having us here, friends!”

Most of the eyes that looked back at her were dead, but the townspeople still smiled back and soon dispersed.

Xandra beckoned Kimba toward her, and handed her a hunting rifle and a few cases of ammunition. “I am terrible with these, so you’ll probably make better use of this. Hope you wouldn't have to use it all that much though.”

“Same here, Xandra, thank you. Try to come by again, okay? I mean, if you can….a-and want to, of course. Would be nice to have some reassurance….”

“For you, anything.” Xandra went to hug her. Kimba held on as tight as she could. She then excitedly left to test out her new weapon on some bottles.

“Can we go now, hun?”

“Sure you don't have anything to say to anyone?”

“Positive.”

“Alright, I've set a course for Megaton, so let’s be on our way now!”

* * *

Ten minutes of following the road later, it was quiet.

Xandra, strolling along with light feet, said, “Soooo, tell me about Little Lamplight.”

“Huh? Oh, well….It was alright. Didn’t get along too well with anyone, even then.”

“Surely you must have had at least one friend?”

“Nah, even the people I went to Big Town with were just whoever got too old.”

“What'd you do for fun then?”

“I had this one old book, it was called _The Monk_ , it kept me company the whole time.”

“What was it about?”

“It’s a nice little romance story, with all sorts of spicy stuff like murder, and saucy secrets, and demonic fun. Wish I had it still, but it crumbled to dust on the way to Big Town.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

**Noon, North of Springvale**

They found a smooth rock formation to sit on top of. The shallow green river flowed peacefully. Bittercup pulled out the Sugar Bombs, spoons, and glass pitcher to share. Xandra poured a healthy amount of whiskey over the cereal. The mixture crackled nicely. They ate in silence, sitting across from each other.

A smile slowly grew on Xandra’s face. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I can't wait to get there.”

“You're gonna love it, I promise---oh dear, not again.”

A small band of raiders was making their way towards them. One guy, the leader presumably, had a Chinese pistol and was taking shots at the two.

“Get back!” Xandra whispered to Bittercup, who dropped down out of sight. She then pulled out a poison dart gun from her knapsack and crouched, taking careful aim. She hit the main raider on the shoulder. The guy collapsed to the ground seconds after, legs crippled from the radscorpion venom.

“You better not get any closer!” Xandra warned the punks.

When they continued advancing, Xandra sighed and found the laser pistol she had been keeping. She missed the first two shots. Luck was on her side with the third fire, and the second raider turned to ash.

The last bandit, a woman with a shaved head, immediately turned and ran.

“You better run!” Xandra turned to Bittercup and helped her back up. “Okay! We’re clear now. You can take the guy if you want to, sweetie!”

“My pleasure,” Bittercup replied.

They dropped down from the rock formation, and Bittercup opened her suitcase to bring out her lead pipe. The first raider was still on the ground, writhing as the remains of the poison coursed his veins.

Xandra, anticipating some splatter, stood back.

Bittercup smacked the raider’s face back and forth with the pipe, several times. She then brought it crashing down on the raider’s head, causing a gush of blood not unlike a Nuka Cola being shaken vigorously and opened. Suffice to say, that was it for this particular scumbag.

Xandra tore off part of the raider’s shirt and handed it to Bittercup, who wiped off the bits on her skin.

Bittercup started cracking up, and said, “Was that your intimidating voice? That was more like a mole rat than a yao guai!” She laughed so hard she snorted.

Xandra blushed. “I got us out of trouble, leave me alone!”

But Xandra didn't mean it. In the time they've known each other, this felt like the first time she’s ever seen Bittercup laugh.

**30 minutes later, Outside Vault 101**

“This will only take a moment, okay sweetheart?”

Xandra waved at the camera she knew was on the rocky exterior that housed Vault 101. She brought Bittercup close and made some excited gestures to get across that they were happy together.

Completely lost, Bittercup asked, “Uhh, what are you doing?”

“Just letting a friend know I’m fine! At least, I hope she’s watching. Hopefully she’s not off to lunch.”

The camera seemed to move up and down slightly, as if in acknowledgement. Xandra thought this was answer enough, and they went back on their trek.

* * *

Before long, they found themselves at Megaton. The protectron Deputy Weld stood at the entrance as always, and said in his droning tones, “Hello, partner. Greetings, newcomer. Hope you don't cause trouble, y’hear?” He raised a mechanical arm in salute, laser pistol catching the light.

“N-no, sir,” Bittercup replied.

“Good. Enjoy your stay in Megaton.”

They passed through the big doors that kept the town safe. Bittercup could only gasp, this place was even bigger than she expected. Rusty and grimy, to be sure, but filled with _life_. Much more than she'd become accustomed to.

“You okay there, dear?” Xandra said, looking as Bittercup took it all in. “My house is right over there, let’s get settled in first before anything else.”

Bittercup nodded, and took Xandra’s hand as they made their way down the incline, then back up to the platform where Xandra’s house was.

They stood in front of the building, as Xandra fished for her key. “I know. My world used to be tiny. And static. It felt like there would no change coming. But it did.” She finally found it, and they entered the house, to be greeted by excited barking. Dogmeat had heard them arriving, and was panting. Xandra ruffled his fur and said, "Dogmeat, this is Bittercup. Bittercup, Dogmeat."

Bittercup trepidatiously put her hand out. Dogmeat sniffed her palm for a second, then licked her hand. She got down on a knee, and hugged the dog. She looked at Xandra, tears streaming down her face. The meaning was clear. She was finally home.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I should rename this series to Power Couple of Megaton?  
> I apologize for the delay between chapters! I wanted to finish this before the end of January, but it just didn't work out. Hope you like it though!  
> Also, WHAT IS FORMATTING.


	5. They Don't See Her Rolling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xandra finds two pairs of rollerskates! Fun ensues!

**Morning, Abandoned house in Ridgefield**

“Interesting!” Xandra said. She brought her discovery closer to her face. It was a pair of roller skates. One of the film reels she’d grown up watching featured people her age going on dates at rollerskating rinks. The snippets were far too short for her, but she got the main idea of the activity, enough to be completely intrigued.

“There’s gotta be another set somewhere…There!”

One was laying on another shelf, while its match was hiding underneath.

“This is gonna be great!” Xandra said as she rubbed the pair of shoes together, giddy.

* * *

**Noon, Craterside Supplies**

“That sounds wonderful, Xandy!” said Moira Brown, Xandra’s favorite person in all of Megaton.

Xandra winced at the slightly-too-cute-even-for-her nickname, but still kept her grin wide. “Right??”

“I have just what you need, too…” said Moira, already out of sight behind the counter, rummaging. She placed onto the countertop a can of oil, then Wonderglue, then an old coffee pot, then a plunger, then a couple of baseball gloves. Moira popped back up.

“Let’s get started!”

* * *

**Afternoon, The Town of Grayditch**

Xandra knelt down, removed her sneakers and replaced them with a pair of newly freshened-up rollerskates.

She stood up straight, tightened her motorcycle helmet, felt the leather pads she had wrapped around her knees and elbows, and took a breath.

One stiff step.

Another, and she was already losing her footing.

She tried to propel herself forward a third time, and found herself falling on her front.

Xandra carefully got back on her feet.

“Would this be better...,” she muttered to herself, as she bent her knees and tried again.

She fell again.

Xandra got up one more time, and eased her stance just slightly. Took one more step, and it was fine. Kicked once more, and she was starting to move forward steadily. Another one, she was gliding. With both arms up in the air, she exclaimed, “Yes!”

Then she fell a third time.

* * *

**Night, Xandra and Buttercup's residence, Megaton**

Still sore, Xandra gingerly swung open the door, carrying both sets of rollerskates. “Hey, hun! Have I got something for us to do!”

Silence.

She found a piece of paper on their couch. What looked like Bittercup’s handwriting was hastily written over with big letters.

“MEET US AT SUPER DUPER MART!”

* * *

**Not long after, Super Duper Mart**

Xandra found one guard at the front door. He was dressed in Talon Merc gear. Yikes. She activated an old Stealth Boy, crept up, and choked him out with her bat.

She entered to hear a voice carry through the massive supermarket. “I can't wait to see the look on your girlfriend’s face when we kill ya right in front of her,” a really unpleasant voice said.

Silently fuming, Xandra crept ahead to find an unpleasant scene.

Three figures were in the middle of the far, wide end of the supermarket. Bittercup was kneeling on the ground, hands cuffed. Two mercs were standing around Bittercup, carrying shotguns. Another was patrolling, further away from the rest.

_This is risky, but it could work out_ , Xandra thought. She found a far corner, carefully set down her knapsack, and retrieved the pair of rollerskates. She put them on as quietly as she could. _Less than a minute left on the Stealth Boy, better make it count_.

Xandra started to skate towards the two mercs. Just as the sound of the skates registered with them, she swatted their guns away with her bat.

“Huh?” went one merc.

Xandra turned around on a dime, losing balance for a moment, and aimed for Merc #1’s throat. **_WHACK!_** The merc grabbed his neck, gurgled, and crumpled to the ground.

She came back a second time, and struck Merc #2’s legs, bringing him to the floor. Xandra slammed her bat in the guy’s face, resulting in a big **_CRACK_**.

Merc #3 was only just rushing over to the commotion. He drew his .32 pistol. “Where the fuck are you? How are you doing this?” He aimed at Bittercup. “I’ll kill her!”

Xandra drew back and swung her bat upwards, sending the gun flying. The Stealth Boy wore off at that moment, making her visible to the last merc. “Hi! You won't be doing that, thanks!” she said, before striking his torso, and as he was bent over, followed up by slamming into the back of his head with a sickening **_WHA-PACK_**.

The merc fell over like a ragdoll.

Xandra had to wrinkle her nose, she would never get used to that icky smell. She took off the rollerskates to return to her knapsack, put her regular shoes on, then walked over to Bittercup to jimmy the handcuffs with her lockpicking set.

Bittercup got up, with a boost from Xandra, and weakly said, “The-the one time I take a stroll out of town, right?” as she rubbed her wrists.

“What were you up to?” said Xandra, gently stroking Bittercup's chin.

“I was booored. You’re always off doing your thing, and I’m alright with that, but...it gets lonely, okay? I tried to write again, but nothing was coming to mind so I just left Megaton for a bit.”

“Looks like we got another Lone Wanderer here,” Xandra said, trying to lighten the mood. She took Bittercup’s hands, and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry this happened to you, sweetie. I promise, I have something for us to do together tomorrow, okay?”

“Does it involve those weird shoes you were wearing?”

“Yep!”

“Well, that does look fun. I just want to take my mind off things for now.”

“Of course! Let’s go home?” said Xandra, offering her arm.

“One sec,” Bittercup said, kneeling down to retrieve a pouch full of bottlecaps from one of the dead mercs. “Dinner at The Brass Lantern’s on me, alright?”

The pair then walked off into the night, arm in arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It's been a while, I wasn't really sure where to take this series now that they've moved together, but I found a good idea for an old draft so here you go! I wanted to add some more emotional stuff, but I feel like it'd be better served down the line.  
> And yes I have been playing Fallout 4 (for the first time) why do you ask?


	6. F%$# the Enclave!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xandra is contacted by the Brotherhood of Steel for an important meeting, and she brought along Bittercup.

**Morning, The Citadel**

“Oh my _gosh_ , how long am I gonna have to keep this up? My arm’s cramping!” Xandra Gomez said, trying to hold her Power Fist-wielding hand aloft.

The Brotherhood of Steel scribe behind the canvas mumbled something about getting the sketch and shading right, and how important this poster was gonna be.

“Are you sure you don't have a working camera? You have every other gizmo laying around!”

The scribe mumbled something about not having the time and resources to get a camera working at this time. Some conversationalist he is.

Removing the unlit cigarette in her mouth, Bittercup said, “Maybe you guys should have had this portrait done when she was in a coma, right?”

“Laugh it up, sweetie, all you have to do is pretend to light up a cigarette. And if I have to flex for goodness knows how long, you have to keep that in your mouth while this sketch is being done.”

“Aye aye, Lone Wanderer! You invited me in the first place…,” said Bittercup, fighting back a grin.

Ten minutes later, the scribe put down his pencil and told them to come back at 6 PM to see the painted version.

As they left, they heard Scribe Ainsworth mutter to himself, “Teenagers.”

**Midday, A pier just outside the Citadel**

“That guy sure loved us huh, babe?” said Bittercup, taking out their lunch from a bag she carried.

“That he did,” replied Xandra, as she received her Salisbury steak.

“I’m curious, do you even like the Brotherhood?”

“I dunno. They're kind of dorks.”

“Rich, coming from you.” replied Bittercup, through a mouthful of mirelurk cake.

“I mean in that like, how different are they from Vault-Tec? They build giant cages with metal walls. I’m sick of walls! We helped take down most of the Enclave together, but at least those guys were obviously bad. I don't know all of what the Brotherhood wants. What if they’re just as bad bullies?”

“Might wanna keep your voice down there, Xandra.”

“What’re they gonna do, fire me?”

They sat in silence for a bit, with occasional chewing.

Bittercup stood up. “Hey babe, do you wanna see how far you can hit baseballs out into the water from here?”

“Do I!”

**Evening, The Citadel**

The pair returned to the room where Scribe Ainsworth had set up his impromptu studio. The smell of paint was strong.

Scribe Ainsworth unveiled the canvas. The painting was gorgeous. Xandra stood powerful in her bright blue jumpsuit and bulky Power Fist, and Bittercup was casually confident, lighting up a cigarette. A yellow background helped the figures stand out, and a curiously spacious blue border surrounded the main image.

“Look at you! Just like a superhero!” said Bittercup.

Was she a superhero? Yes. No! Maybe? She was just doing her best. Maybe her best was better than most. Or was she just gifted with luck? Xandra banished the thought. That might be a conversation for the future.

“Xandra? Baby? You alright there?” said Bittercup, patting Xandra’s arm.

“Oh, yeah, I was just staring at this lovely depiction of my girlfriend! You are gonna boost morale throughout the Capital, I tell you!”

“Yeah sure, the sad girl’s gonna get them cheering.”

Xandra was about to interject, when Scribe Ainsworth rolled his eyes and said, “When we have made sufficient copies, we will send the original to your Megaton residence. Now there is one last thing left, then I am going to have to ask you to _please_ leave.”

“Oh sure, name it!”

Through gritted teeth, Scribe Ainsworth said, “ _Well_ , there is the matter of this space left over at the top. We would like you to select a satisfactory slogan.”

Xandra tapped her cheek, giving it some thought.

Bittercup excitedly exclaimed, “What about something like 'Eat shit and die, Enclave fuckers’! That’ll get them talking!”

“Sweetie, that's not very appropriate or catchy!”

“Fiiine, I can tone it down a bit! I saw this technique in one of your comics…Hey sir, mind handing me that white paint?”

Bittercup glided with a steady hand across the top of the canvas. “F%$# the Enclave!” slowly started taking shape.

Xandra clutched her girlfriend's arm and rested her head against Bittercup's shoulder. Perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art was by my friend Jenny! Check out her Twitter!  
> https://twitter.com/feywoods/status/967605295504547840


	7. Halfway There Already

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xandra has stuff on her mind. Bittercup cuts to the heart of the matter.  
> Featuring: Talking! And that's it!

“What're you thinking about, babe?”

“Nothing.”

“You're not really the kind to sit up in bed without a reason. So, what's on your mind?”

“I'm thinking about the day this poster was painted.”

“I remember. You said you’re sick of people telling others how to live and you don't seem to like the Brotherhood of Steel much and then you had that really weird moment when you first saw that poster. Anything I missed?”

“You called me a superhero and I got really thrown off.”

“Did you like me calling you that?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I think you're trying to avoid something.”

“Maybe...Okay, what's next for me? Where do I even begin with stopping bad guys? I can't just go town to town, fighting whoever's got the guns right? Or can I?”

“What about the people left behind? If you take out their leader, even if he is an asshole, how do you know if they're gonna be alright? There could be someone worse taking over.”

“I...yeah. Huh.”

“Take it from someone who used to live in the worst town in the Capital, when you’re stuck in filth, you just take whatever comes your way. Even if 'whatever’ is a bully. Some of us back in Big Town might have joined the Enclave, if they just had the kick in the ass to leave.”

“What can I do, then? There's all that misery out there.”

“Just do what you've been doing. Listen to people. Hear them out on their bullshit, no matter how crazy. Like, remember those losers playing superhero and villain you told me about?”

“Hey, they were cool! I talked to AntAgonizer, Tanya, about Grognak and she gave me some comics and her suit!”

“And most importantly, she stopped messing with everyone and went away right? No more supervillain! Because you talked to her.”

“Is that enough?”

“Listen. You’re probably not a superhero. I mean, the colorful uniform and your body's weird relationship with rads aside. But you are a person. A decent one. Oh sure, fight the bad guys making the wasteland what it is, but don't forget about the people deep in shit. You can unlock the cell, but you gotta give a reason to live the prison.”

“Did you just rhyme, sweetie?”

“It's not a great one, but I might write it down.”

“Hey, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, Xandra?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. I'll keep watch; go to sleep now.”

“Halfway there already…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're curious what Bittercup meant with Xandra's relationship with rads, check out my earlier story, [Wasted Guide](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1259598)  
> Two updates in a month? Shocking. I thought of this right as I finished the previous chapter. I've always wanted to do a story that was pure dialogue. Think of this as a holotape found sometime in the future.


	8. I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She just wants to be the one somebody loves.

“Mayor Red! We found a girl outside!”

“Good, bring her in!”

A little girl entered the settlement of Little Lamplight, flanked by several other children, the assigned scavengers for their society. She was carrying the remains of a toy horse, completely dazed.

“Welcome to Little Lamplight, newcomer! I'm Mayor Red, and you are?”

The girl looked away and hugged her horse tighter. “B-b-buttercup…?”

“Okay then, welcome, Buttercup!” said Mayor Red, with an outstretched hand.

* * *

Bittercup’s eyes snapped open. Chest heaving, her hand reached about.

Xandra found it, and squeezed it tight. She shifted, to lay on her back now. She gently held her girlfriend’s hand, rubbing it from time to time.

Soon, they were both asleep again.

Morning came, and Bittercup once again reached for her little spoon. She found the other side of the bed empty. With a sigh, she laid on her back, rubbing her eyes.

“Good morning, I didn't think you’d be up yet!”

Bittercup felt a familiar smooch on her forehead, and her fears soon evaporated.

* * *

“Buttercup, you've been reading that book a long time! Didn't you say it was scary?”

She had been sitting in bed, trying to ignore the sounds of play echoing through the cavern. She hadn't even noticed Pappy walking up to her.

“Well I'm 13 now, I'm big! And I don't wanna be that anymore, I wanna be Bittercup!”

“Okay, but some people are worried about you, we don't see you at all some days!”

“They'll call me over if they want, but they don't. They're bored of me.”

“Maybe they are, but I always want to talk to you!”

Bittercup looked up from her book. “Really, Pappy?” 

* * *

Xandra set down plates of food for her and Bittercup. The Brass Lantern’s neon sign still glowed dimly.

“---really happy for you, sweetie! This is a big day, your first day at work!”

Bittercup shook herself out of her state. “Oh, right, yeah...Thanks again for helping me get this job, babe. I'm surprised how easy she said yes.” She took a big bite out of her Salisbury steak.

“That’s just how it is here! If they don't shoot you on sight, people are so quick to accept help. It's up to you to offer it in the first place,” said Xandra, in between spoonfuls of Pork n’ Beans.

* * *

“I think...we’ve gone the uhh...down way, which we don’t want. There could be some nasties in the area.”

As Pappy tried to make sense of the map to Big Town, Bittercup was to the side, lost in thought over her possible future home.

She came back to her senses as she heard giant, lumbering footsteps.

Bittercup looked behind, to find herself looking at a yao guai, limping her way. She froze.

The yao guai stared at her face, the demon bear’s mouth baring a hideous snarl. It weakly raised a scarred arm, about to strike.

Instinctively, Bittercup took several steps backwards, only to lose her footing, falling back hard.

_BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM_

The series of shots hit the yao guai in the head. The beast collapsed, and Pappy stood over it, holding his shotgun triumphantly.

“Oh man, did you see that, Bittercup? I got that bastard right in the face!”

A number of things went through her mind. “You cared more about shooting the thing than saving my life? You could’ve shot me! I was a heartbeat away from getting eaten! Maybe I should've just let it kill me!” She felt a flame flare up inside her, threatening to spill out. But a wave of sadness silenced her. Bittercup laid there for a second, covered in yao guai bits, staring at the fallen creature right next to her. She almost felt pity for it, despite herself.

But then she got up, wiped herself off, and shakily said with a smile, “So, back on the quest to Big Town again?”

* * *

Xandra held the well-oiled door to Craterside Supplies open for Bittercup.

Moira waved with her usual chipper energy. “Oh, hi-ya, you two! Ready for a fun first day of work? I got a whole list of stuff to scavenge for the caravans!”

“Ready for anything, Moira!” said Xandra, with a hint of a squeak.

“Wonderful! There's a handful of locations for you two to check out! I just want you to know, these might lead you to some nasty beasties, are you two gonna be okay?”

Bittercup found Xandra’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Yes. I think we'll be just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Somehow this draft sat for weeks until I got a sudden burst of creative energy. Happy Pride!


End file.
